OpenGeofiction
Hello,Lorredion has launched a hyperloop network with these neighbors (Surricy and Zylanda) and hopes to expand it further. Info: http://wiki.opengeofiction.net/wiki/index.php/Mach_One
However, MSTR have noticed that there may be a conflict between hyperloop and verisimilitude. I think he is compatible, he thinks he does not. As it will be too long to summarize on this post the whole of our debate, I invite you to take a look please, so that we can together define a border between what is verisimilitude and what is not. See the debate here: http://wiki.opengeofiction.net/wiki/index.php/Talk:Mach_One
Feel free to give us our opinion because it might be important for all of us to define how the community should treat the somewhat borderline technologies in our universe.
Thank you for your help!
Discussion
Comment from Toadwart on 16 January 2018 at 01:23
I think we are as close to a hyperloop as to a moon base.
The idea has been around for decades and I see no major breakthrough in any technology necessary. I don’t see it being built for another decade. And even when it would be doable, it would take another decade to be actually built. Those tubes are uglier than a pair of tracks and in no way more economical that conventional railway.
For verisimilitude, I would vote for “It’s against”. Your major problem: You don’t know how a vacuum tube system would look. How do the stations, junctions, yards look?
If you want something fancy, why not try a maglev? Or if you want pods, try the Ultra Pods from Heathrow.
Comment from zhenkang on 16 January 2018 at 10:36
I would have agreed with Toadwart on the alternatives. However, I would rather be the neutral party for this.
Comment from louis_walker on 16 January 2018 at 23:58
I was definitely leaning toward ‘no hyperloop in OGF til there’s a hyperloop in real life,’ but then I read UN1TY’s comment (The Dubai-Abu Dhabi Hyperloop project is scheduled to begin construction in 2019. It’s planned, it’s funded, and it’s approved by the Emir. If Hyperloop is realistic enough for the real world, why isn’t it realistic enough for a fictional world that allows individual users to put mountain ranges wherever they like?) I [1] burst out laughing, and [2] changed my mind.
I like isleño’s suggestion—draw it, mark it as under construction, and leave it that way until a real hyperloop is built (or at least significantly under construction). Big infra projects can take ages to build, anyway. (Context: I live in New York, where it takes us a century to build the first phase of a freaking subway line).
Side note: You should definitely incorporate Lorredion’s hyperloop plans into its Expomondiale pavilion in Tarott. >:-D
Comment from Sarepava on 17 January 2018 at 00:17
On balance, unlikely to be built in either real world or OGF. Why? Several reasons.
Cost. It’s a huge investment in a technology that is new and unproven. Almost nothing in the history of human technology has ever gone ahead with such an expensive idea as the first example. Bankrolling by a state is politically risky. Private capital will consider this project too risky. So funds to even build the thing will be hard to get. Then there is how to buy land to build on or else tunnel (very expensive, residents will object, how to get to city centres). Airlines will lobby to get this thing shelved as it’s a threat to their business. It will be of benefit only to people wanting to travel between cities and will have all the objections made to high-speed rail leveled at it too.
Then there is the passenger experience. Wikipedia quotes ‘Some critics of Hyperloop focus on the experience—possibly unpleasant and frightening—of riding in a narrow, sealed, and windowless capsule inside a sealed steel tunnel, that is subjected to significant acceleration forces; high noise levels due to air being compressed and ducted around the capsule at near-sonic speeds; and the vibration and jostling’ Flying and high-speed rail is usually very smooth and affords pleasant views of the world on the journey.
It is questionable whether this is even any more time-efficient than an airline or high-speed rail. An aircraft can fly 540km in well under an hour. Even with check-in, flight from Elegantia to Rivador is not more than 3 hours and could cost as little as $30-50 on a budget airline. It’s also likely that a single aircraft will have a bigger passenger capacity than a hyperloop pod which also improves efficiency. Passengers will probably opt for the cheaper but longer option once the novelty of the new technology has worn off, and until then the relative efficiency of air travel is a big argument not to build the project at all. The claims about saving energy with hyperloop may also be questionable given the amount of work to build it and the energy required to operate.